Service Dog for Bethany
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Our daughter, Bethany, was born with a rare, degenerative musculo-skeletal syndrome called Klippel-Feil Syndrome. This syndrome affects muscles, joints, bones, organs, and causes pain throughout the body. At 8-months old, Bethany was diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon. Since then, her team of doctors has growth exponentially, just to keep her healthy, and include her Spinal Neurosurgeon, Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Ortho-Neurosurgeon, ENT, Orthopedic Surgeon, Pediatrician, Eye doctor, Pulmonologist, and Cardiologist. Bethany has undergone three rounds of genetic testing, been to dieticians and nutritionists, rheumatologists, bone specialists and seen by Complex Care teams, just to name a few. Throughout it all, Bethany has attended school, made friends, took swimming and tennis lessons, and played with her loving younger brother, Dylan.
This syndrome knows no age. When Bethany was 7, she underwent a staged complex set of surgeries: anterior and posterior decompression and cervical fusion surgery. She was in the hospital for two weeks and then transferred to a Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital for another two weeks in order to learn how to walk again.
The summer before 4th grade, Bethany began to struggle to walk. She required and underwent a laminectomy and tethered-cord release surgery, and again had to relearn to walk, though continued to rely on her wheelchair.
The summer before 6th grade, scoliosis repair surgery was imminent, as her curve had begun to impact her internal organs. Again, our warrior girl, Bethany, persevered and rocked yet another surgery. Again, she relearned how to walk, this time with rods in her back. She is fused in her neck and also her back.
As Bethany continues to grow and mature into a young woman, her body continues to suffer from muscle spasms and pain associated with her syndrome. Our family had made an attempt to get a hypoallergenic dog to train into Bethany’s service dog, but our adorable puppy developed a strong bond with our son and is not the correct size to be a mobility dog for Bethany.
A service dog trained in mobility assistance will provide Bethany with independence, as well as relief for her body. She will be able to walk with the assistance from the dog, as it can brace some of her weight, and retrieve items for her, providing much needed body breaks. This level of dog training would be a gift for our family, as the expense of raising a child with medically-based special needs is costly.
This syndrome knows no age. When Bethany was 7, she underwent a staged complex set of surgeries: anterior and posterior decompression and cervical fusion surgery. She was in the hospital for two weeks and then transferred to a Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital for another two weeks in order to learn how to walk again.
The summer before 4th grade, Bethany began to struggle to walk. She required and underwent a laminectomy and tethered-cord release surgery, and again had to relearn to walk, though continued to rely on her wheelchair.
The summer before 6th grade, scoliosis repair surgery was imminent, as her curve had begun to impact her internal organs. Again, our warrior girl, Bethany, persevered and rocked yet another surgery. Again, she relearned how to walk, this time with rods in her back. She is fused in her neck and also her back.
As Bethany continues to grow and mature into a young woman, her body continues to suffer from muscle spasms and pain associated with her syndrome. Our family had made an attempt to get a hypoallergenic dog to train into Bethany’s service dog, but our adorable puppy developed a strong bond with our son and is not the correct size to be a mobility dog for Bethany.
A service dog trained in mobility assistance will provide Bethany with independence, as well as relief for her body. She will be able to walk with the assistance from the dog, as it can brace some of her weight, and retrieve items for her, providing much needed body breaks. This level of dog training would be a gift for our family, as the expense of raising a child with medically-based special needs is costly.
Organizer
Eric Blonder
Organizer
Asbury Park, NJ